Purple Dogs
Prologue
A tiny green sprite was moving FTL. Radormi's radar read it, but he could not tell what it was. Then he watched as a Donphan attempted to catch up. Donphan halted, out of breath.
A rainbow bird came out of the sky and landed in front of Donphan. They appeared to be conversing. Ho-oh seemed to be worried about something; Donphan wanted to calm it down.
Then a load roar was heard, and one of the Three Legendary Dogs came into view beneath a stream of flame. Radormi knew it as Entei. As the latter Pokemon strode forward, he scorched the grass beneath his feet. Using his Ember, he burned Donphan on its right side. There was now a blazing wound there that would never be removed. Ho-oh tried to use Drill Peck on Entei, but out of the blue came another of the Legendary Dogs, Raikou, with its jagged purple tail. Only, something was strange about this Raikou. It was all violet, every last spot on its flesh took on that hue. A jolt of lightning fried Ho-oh's wings, sending it spiraling to the ground. Any novice trainer could catch it now. If the Legendary Dogs weren't standing there, Radormi would take his chance.
And then Celebi appeared from nowhere. It was the sprite Radormi's radar had noticed. Now, acting as the Sandman, it used Hypnosis on the Legendary Dogs. Once sure of their slumber, Radormi decided to creep out from his hiding place and throw an Ultra Ball at Ho-oh. Imagine, having a Legendary Pokemon of his own! It would be his pride and joy.
He heard heavy boots in the lane opposite him. No! Someone else was going to notice the vulnerable Pokemon! He had to act quickly! Pulling out a random Pokeball, he hurled it as far toward Ho-oh as he could. It hit Donphan, but nothing happened. This could only mean one thing: Donphan belonged to someone else.
Then he saw his competitor. It was a man with a haggard face, thin cheekbones, and scarecrow hair. He stood erect, but a support allowed him to do so. Radormi could tell that this man would normally be hunched over.
A peculiar laugh emerged from the stranger's mouth. He tossed a Puissant Ball at Ho-oh. Radormi had never seen one of those before. It's strength was supposed to be between that of an Ultra Ball and a Master Ball. And of course, Ho-oh was caught.
"Now I have the all-powerful Rainbow Pokemon at my disposal!" the man said, holding up the Puissant Ball in triumph. "Thank you Donphan. Thank you Celebi. You were great out there."
Donphan and Celebi belonged to this man. Radormi thought he knew what happened. Both Donphan and Celebi had pretended to be wild so that they could trick Ho-oh. The latter Pokemon had warned Donphan that there might be Pokemon poachers around, but Donphan had put on a demeanor of self-possession. Furthermore, this must be the time of the year that the Legendary Dogs hunt here. This poacher had reckoned on the Dogs being furious at trespassers in their turf. He was right, if he had so ingenuously planned this. Donphan was scorched; Ho-oh fried.
A helicopter thirty feet in the air had dropped a rope ladder, which this man climbed deftly. Radormi had a desire to go after him, but by the time he saw his chance, the helicopter had already risen nine feet in the air. It was too late.
Radormi stared around him at the unfortunate Legendary Dogs, who had driven Ho-oh into such dangers. There were duplicates of them, of course. However, he worried about something. Only two of them were out here now. Usually these Dogs form a threesome. So where was the Suicune of this pack? Was it hiding nearby? Would it come out and attack Radormi? He decided he would not wait to find out. Gathering his radar and knapsack, he meandered to the nearest town.